Frigidaire Affinity Washer/Dryer Negatives

I had my new Frigidaire Affinity Washer and Dryer installed the last week in July. I am part of a testing program for their new line. It has been approximately 9 weeks since I have been using it. Now that the new and exciting of the big (beautiful) set has worn off, I wanted to make sure I touched on some of the negatives, and hopefully future improvements, of this product.

1) Tray: On the washer there is a pull out tray on the top left where you add your detergent, bleach, and fabric softener. I like how its raised up where a child cannot get to it, however I have to stand on my tippy toes to actually see the inside of the tray.

The washer and dryer are on the stands that pull out, so it makes them a bit higher then usual, but its something that the company should have accounted for. While I am short (5’1″), the one thing that baffles me is that the bleach tray is in the back of the pour tray and the softener tray is in the front. Every time I pour bleach, I have to do it quite blindly as its taller then I am and having the bleach in the back makes it extra difficult.

As bleach is not only much dangerous to work with and can ruin clothing if its accidentally poured outside the area it goes into, it seems to me that bleach should be a lot more accessible.

Tip to Frigidaire: Switch bleach to the front and fabric softener to the back ASAP

2) Smell: On the inside of the washer, there is a ring of rubber that separates the door from the washer itself. There is no way to explain it other then that it smells when its wet. It hasn’t transferred to my clothing (that I have noticed), but its a clear stink from the rubber.

In addition to that, there is a groove (I am assuming for flexibility) and Charlotte’s little socks constantly get left there and I have to pull them out and hand wring the water out to throw in the dryer.

3) Doors: Now I am not sure who designed the doors, but they open opposite of each other. That doesn’t sound like a big deal, but as a right handed person, the dryer doesn’t open on the side that it naturally should (think of a door opening).

It opens on the OPPOSITE side.

Even after 9 weeks, my first instinct is to open it on the other side then it does. This is more of an annoying trait then anything else. When we had these installed, because of how our dryer connection was set up in the back (and I am assuming most dryer connections since we have a standard home) they had to put in an additional wire to get the dryer on the other side of the laundry room. This piece cost an extra $75.

Be aware of how these install versus your laundry room and if you will be subjected to this cost upon install.

You can see in this picture that the washer (on the left) opens correctly and the dryer (right) door opens in an odd direction. You try opening a dryer with your left hand today and see how awkward it is.

4) Closing: The latch on the dryer is very weak. It takes an actual thought process to close the dryer and make sure its latched properly. You cannot just close the dryer, you have to intentionally push in and slightly up and secure the latch. When your hands are full with clothing, you have to leave and come back and close it. This leaves it open for kids and cats to crawl into.

5) Noise: I will try to capture some video upcoming, but I can tell you that the noise that they dryer and washer make versus my last set (Kenmore) is a noticable. I do like that the washer beeps in 3 successions so you know the clothing is completed, so that is a plus. However, the water rushing in, the cycles of washing and drying themselves, all make a great deal more noise then I am used to.

Please realize that while I am pointing out the things I do not like with my washer/dryer to make it easier for you to know the improvements needed, that none of these things actually affect how clean my clothes have been.

Hi, y'all! If you got this far, awesome . I am assuming you want to know more about me. I am a *cough* 36 year old mom of 2 great kids, 6 rescue animals and proud wife of my high school sweetheart. This blog is my outlet and allows me to pretend I am a kid at heart. I get to play with glitter and glue, eat lots of sweets (its for the blog, I swear!) and connect with readers and friends. As a blogger I love to share with you- so the rundown is that I am currently reading this, using these for calmer bedtimes, giving away this, and suggesting here if you ever wanted to be a blogger yourself.

Comments

I have been reading all the comments and what a surprise. I have had my washer and dryer Frigidaire Affinity for 6 years now and have never had any problems, in fact I love this set and would highly recommend it. Also I would like to know how I can become one of the testers for new products….it’s sounds like fun!

I am cleaning a fancy house and I
Thought I broke the dryer latch until I read your comment about pushing in and up to close. Could not find this information on any other website. You just saved the day. Your review was well done!

I have an Affinity Model FAQE7011KR Dryer paired with the matching washer. I purchased them in December 2009. The pair aren’t even four years old. The washer’s pump has gone out so many times I have replacement parts on hand at this point. I have them stacked, so every three months when I have to repair the washer, the dryer automatically gets a thorough cleaning. Needless to say, I am so upset about this last issue I intend to let the entire world know and I thank God I was awake and at home when I discovered the FIRE in the dryer.

Last night (8/27/13) at 11:30 we ran a load of laundry and put it in the dryer. I went out and sat on the patio since it was a nice night and in about 10 minutes after the dryer was started, I started to smell smoke coming from the outside dryer vent. I immediately ran down into the basement, opened the dryer door and I could smell something burning, but I saw no smoke just smell. So i removed the clothes, pulled the vent hoses, the filter, and checked out any accessible area of the dryer that I was able to check for lint. Nothing there, maybe this was a fluke. I put half the load back in, just to see if it would happen again. After 5 minutes it seemed that it was running fine. So I went back out to the patio to enjoy a few cool minutes outside on a very hot night. After about 10 more minutes I smelled smoke again and actually saw it billowing out the outside dryer vent. I ran back down to the dryer. Now the entire drum was completely filled with smoke, but the clothes inside were not burned. I unplugged the unit and stayed up half the night worried it might spontaneously flame up.

Today I pulled the unit apart (I am a retired electrician) and I discovered a MAJOR DESIGN FLAW with this unit. Upon dissecting the charred remains I discovered where the fire started – along with it the MAJOR DESIGN FLAW, which makes the Dryer a DEATH TRAP. The duct leading from the burner and into the back of the drum that is designed to push hot air into the drum to dry the clothes – has holes big enough to allow lint and debris﻿ to fall backwards into the burner, allowing it to ignite.

If you dry anything that may pill up or produce lint, the particles are able to fall backwards through the burner’s duct with the accumulation building up inside the sealed and inaccessible to maintain burner vent. Without a major change to that part, I would not recommend that ANYONE purchase these appliances.

I would not put one of these products n my home again if you paid me to take them. What pieces of hi-tech junk!! The washer ring gets moldy after a few washes, we are constantly cleaning with bleach to remove the mold and scum since the washer never really drains completely. Always smells moldy. The technology is so bad that there is an entire industry now that makes bleach products to clean these types of washing machines because of the mold/smell, now that’s progress ?? Terrible design, in addition the door frame cracked after the first year. Give me a good ole top load washer without all of these ridiculous bells and whistles. It’s supposed to be a water saver. I do not need a water saver, I need a washing machine that cleans a load of clothes without the moldy smells etc. So much for this ridiculous washing machine.

Now the dryer, are you kidding me !! This is the dirtiest dryer I have ever seen. Every couple months you literally have to disassemble the lint component, then try to reach down with the vacuum cleaner wand to get all of the lint/dirt that ends up at the bottom of the dryer. It is TERRIBLE!! Once again, a supposed new design that is a total mess, I would not have this component in my house again. Oh yeah, now the best part. I knelt on the top of the dryer to get something from a cupboard up above, ended up bending/denting the entire top of the machine (I weigh 150 lbs). On the old machine I could do a dance on top and it would not dent. Cheap components/Chinese metal, plastic parts etc. This is what the world is coming to. I am heading out today to buy two used commercial quality top load washers and dryers that I know are proven technology, built well and will last. These two components are going to be removed, not sold to anyone else, they are junk. And oh yes, Frigidaire, this is the last component I buy from you.

I have no affinity for these components. I have never written about products before but I could not hold back on these two disasters. I spent nearly a grand on these two systems and it was the biggest waste of money I have ever spent.

Im with you Tom! I have the set and am constantly cleaning out the lint trap and taking it apart to dig out the lint which is now going up the exhaust hose! The washer only now works on ONE cycle water will not fill up in any other. They are pieces of crap!!!!

I have had realy no problems with my set, i had put up as a stackable set so the doors realy dont bother me. i never had the hard shaking problem with the washer either. my problem is i brought both washer and dryer in 09 and today the dryer will run for 2 mins and then stop with all lights on it flashing but no code. been told by the service call it is the motherboard. price 171.00 service call will be almost 200 or more to repair it ontop of the 171 part. was told to be cheaper to buy a new dryer but not this brand., it should not have gone bad this early its less then 4 years old. once every 4-6 months in the frontlading washer, i find it gets a oder. i put 4 tbls of baking soda in the drum, pour a total a 3/4 cup apple cider vinger among the 3 dispensing cups, and then run it on sanitize. this kills the mold and oder problem without bying those cleaning packets.

BUYER BEWARE !!!! Do not buy these washer\dryers!!!
Oh how I wish I could take them back. My husband got them second hand from a friend fairly cheap. So I cant really complain with that. But, my goodness… where to start with these things.
The “detergent dispenser” right now is my biggest complaint. I used bleach the other day and it seemed to have not fully washed thru with the wash cyle. Needless to say I have some interesting tye dye darks now. Also It seems like my fabric softener doesn’t full flush thru either. There is always some type of pooling in the dispenser after a load is done. ( i do use the he products too.)
Just like some previous comments mentioned… the spin cycle… good grief I’ve thought a couple times we were having a earthquake or a poltergiest was in my house. Turning down the spin cycle to LOW helped only a litte.
Just like the writer of the article metioned the inconvienent door opening, fragile doors etc.. I didn’t see mentioned is the water\mildew with the washer door. The rubber ring \seal in the front of the washer needs to be constantly wiped down. Make sure you get all the folds on this thing. I wish I would of figured it out sooner. I have a stubborn smelly build up on it now..ughh… i could go on for hours about my loathing of this set.
Buyer beware. I hope this helped anyone looking into this product!

I’ve had my front loaders, the same exact one s in this forum for approximately 6-7 months now. I have had no problem what so ever. I believe the problem could be the person doing the laundry. I have given this some thought, not just from this site that I stumbled upon by accident but just in daily life in general. I have noticed that women have begun to shirk thier daily dutie as not only housekeepers but mothers and good wives as well. I see on the news and reality shows where women are becoming more and more like wanna be drama queens and expect to sit around and do absolutely nothing while men do EVERYTHING as well as earn the pay and take care of the kids. I am not saying any of you women are like this but I do see an awful lot of complaining over such a minute incidence. You can’t do laundry, big deal you probably can’t cook either. Are you going to blame the stove for that as well? Really, just take some lessons, learn how it’s done and just forget about rushing out to get the latest gossip from the girls at the bar. Stay home learn to domesticate yourself and be happy. Seriously!

This was a most informative piece regarding the pros and cons of this particular washer/dryer. I am afraid I cannot risk the chance that purchasing one of these “luxury appliances” could somehow hypnotize me with thier soothing sounds and circular motions and I could inadvertently begin to shirk my “duties as a housekeeper, wife or mother.” God forbid that my husband who works the same number of hours a week at his job as I do mine, mighht have to bend his fat rear end over and pick up his dirty clothes off the bathroom floor. What kind of wife would I be if after work, carpooling, girl scouts, making dinner, cleaning up after dinner, bathing the kids and then putting them to bed would I be were I to be lulled to sleep by my dryer instead of donning lacy lingerie and dancing provacativly for Caveman Husband. These horrid machines should be banned before we lose the last traces of Stepford from our memory chips. It seems that the century you really belong in hasn’t invented washing machines yet so just get the washboard and lye soap out and have at it. While you are doing that I’m going to utilize my evolved female brain and have my housekeeper clean up, my nanny deal with the kids, Call and have dinner catered courtesy of husband’s Platinum card, flirt with my online crush, then spend the rest of the night watching The Real Housewives of New York while hubby puts in another 18 hour day to pay for my mani, pedi’s. massages, etc….evolution means saying No to prenups

Are you kidding me James??? These people have valid complaints and you’re talking about domestication!!! Really!!!!! Just because your wife doesn’t meet your expectations, doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t!!!!!

OMG!So we just bought the washer and dryer and put our first load in around a hour ago. It ran like an absolute dream…..until the spin cycle. HOLY COW the thing literally shook so violantly we thought the house was colapsing! we ran into the laundry room were my nearly 200 pound husband sat on it and still couldn’t control it. I thought it was going to explode! I was literally scared for my safety! I have lived on military bases right behind the runway and the sound of the jets didn’t even compare to the spin cycle on this washer. Since I value my life, I think i am going to return them!

I had the same problem I guess there a 4 packing bolts in the back of the washer that are to be removed before use. I discovered this info by reading the very small print on the yellow plastic plug that the bolts went through.

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